Beauty of the Beast
by Naisa
Summary: "There once was a City, a City full of life, love and tales to tell. Every place and everyone has a story, but today, we will just focus on the tale of two people, a story of a beauty, and a beast." A short story about a desperate man who gives away his daughter in an attempt to save his money and pride from the Beast, a man society despises because of the colour of his skin...
1. Prologue

_This is a short story I wrote quite a while ago, it was part of my English A level - we had to create a version of a fairy tale, but had to add certain aspects to it, including magic, jumps in time and an issue in society. I did a version of Beauty and the Beast, where the Beast was not a monster, he was a black man in a racist and segregated society._

_Recently I had the sudden idea to continue this - to write a series of fairy tales, but add something that looked at discrimination in society, and put it on the kindle (I already have a couple of books on there - it's something really simple and easy to do). But I thought before I did so, I should put up my original Beauty and the Beast story, and see what you guys think. I was planning to put this up on fanfic originally, and now I have finally got round to it :)_

_Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story! Would love to know what you think so please review :)_

Beauty of the Beast

Prologue

There once was a City, a City full of life, love and tales to tell. Every place and everyone has a story, but today, we will just focus on the tale of two people in this ancient City - a story of a beauty, and a beast.

Our story begins in the dead of night one summer. The City was peaceful after darkness had settled upon it. No birds, no busy market place, no children playing in the streets. Everything was silent. There was just empty roads, twinkling stars, and a bright moon.

However, in a tall, menacing mansion just off the City centre, one man's mind was wide-awake and buzzing with so much information it was bordering on excitement.

If you looked at what the locals had nick-named 'Beastly Mansion', you would see rows and rows of windows running along all four floors, but if you peered through them they gave nothing away of the life inside. The mansion was built of redbricks, but their colour had grown dull over time, making the building look old and dull. The entrance of the mansion was made up of two huge, wooden doors, which always opened with a satisfying creek. The front garden of the mansion was a simple gravel path and close cut, green lawns. No plants. The garden and the road in front of the house were seperated by a pair of high, ominous, barbed wire gates. Very few people were seen entering or leaving Beastly Mansion.

All the windows of Beastly Mansion were black, apart from one, where a dim light shone from it. This was where the Beast stood now, candles hovering around him, held up by some invisible force, his dark eyes full of concentration as he worked on the canvas before him.

Every now and then the Beast had a vision, a prediction of the future, in his mind's eye. However the vision was always mere dotted outlines, with smudged faces and dim colours, and often made little sense. The Beast therefore had learned that the only way he could make sense of his visions, was if he painted them.

This particular prediction was the strongest the Beast had ever had, which was why he found himself awake in the middle of the night, his brush throwing bright colours across the dull canvas.

The Beast didn't know how long he had been working on the painting, all he knew was that he had to get it done as quickly as possible while the vision was still strong. Minutes passed in a blur as slowly the pieces of the puzzle in his head came together to form an image.

Suddenly, without any warning, the Beast stopped.

The painting was finished.

The Beast stepped back, trying to take a better look at his painting. In what felt like moments the blank canvas had been filled with colour, the candles illuminating the picture.

The painting was an image of the inside of a Church. The Beast recognised the Church by the small stained-glass windows in the background; it was the local one from the City. A blood-red carpet ran down the aisle, separating the rows of wooden pews. Walking down the aisle was a woman in an elaborate white dress – a wedding dress. Her dark brown hair fell over her shoulders in waves like the sea, her silver-blue eyes were wide with nervousness and her lips were bright red, like the carpet, against her fine, pale skin.

But what took the Beast completely by surprise in this strange image, was the man who was waiting for her at the end of the aisle.

It was him.

The Beast stared at the painting, astonished. How could this be? He would never marry. Who would want to marry him? He had finally got used to being rejected, to facing a life alone, but he had just made a prediction that he was going to make an ever-lasting bond with someone, someone he didn't know, someone he probably wouldn't even love. Why would he do such a thing? How was such a thing possible?

But his predictions had never been wrong before.

The Beast stood in the room, staring at the painted canvas, surrounded by hovering candles, and wondered what was going to happen next.


	2. Bankrupt

_This chapter takes place 3 weeks after the prologue, hope you like it :) please review!_

Chapter 1

Bankrupt

Edmund Darrel was nervous. He wasn't used to being nervous. Usually he was confident and cocky, but now his confidence and cockiness had pushed him into a dark hole too deep and sides too steep to clamber out of.

He waited for his fate in the usually calm and jolly atmosphere of the local tavern, but tonight the place was deserted, even the barman had disappeared from sight. The very air was tense. Rain tapped constantly and infuriatingly against the dirty windows, as Mr Darrel stared down at his untouched tankard of beer, and felt a little queasy.

This beer might be the last thing he would ever buy with his own money.

Suddenly, the door of the empty pub creaked open and a figure dressed in a black hooded cloak came in. Mr Darrel shivered, he couldn't see the figure's face, but he knew who it was just by the dark colour of his hands that were visible beneath his cloak.

The figure then stepped closer, revealing the black eyes of the Beast.

"Good evening, Mr Darrel." The Beast's greeting was low and gravelly over the sound of the rain. His eyes were as hard as stone as he spoke, they gave away nothing.

Mr Darrel's eyes however, showed his panic and worry, but as he recovered from his initial fear of the Beast, he glowered. He felt disgusted that the Beast had actually _instructed _him to come to this place, and now was_ talking_ to him, as if they were equal! No, he was not like that scum.

"Enough of your pleasantries!" Mr Darrel spat, unable to hold back his temper. "Why have you brought me here?" He demanded. He tried not to show his nervousness that had turned his stomach into ice, but there was nothing stopping the sweat that was now plastered on his balding head. Even in his anger, his silver-blue eyes showed a glint of worry. Although he was still feeling insulted that he had been summoned in such a way, by the Beast.

"I knew it would be quiet," the Beast explained, he shrugged a little, but his voice remained unemotional.

"No!" Mr Darrel snapped, "I want to know _why _you want to see me."

The Beast's cold, secretive eyes bore into Mr Darrel as he spoke. "You know very well."

Mr Darrel shifted under the Beast's gaze, fear prickling the hairs on the back of his neck. He knew perfectly well why he was there. Being a banker was a risky business, and Mr Darrel had known for the past few months that he was falling into debt, but his greed forced him to ignore the warning signs. But then disaster struck, and he lost all his money, absolutely everything. The worst the thing, however, was that he had lost all his money to the Beast.

Mr Darrel couldn't help but shiver in disgust and anger. An animal was about to take everything away from its rightful master, the farmer, when the creature should have been butchered years ago.

Mr Darrel suddenly realised that he had been quiet for a very long time, his eyes darting from the Beast to the floor. He was finding it difficult to swallow in the tense silence.

Finally, the Beast broke the silence. He knew exactly what Mr Darrel had been thinking. All the man thought about was his money.

"If you give me all your money, I can pay off the people that you owe, and you won't be in debt for the rest of your life."

"But I will lose all my money!" Mr Darrel cried out desperately.

"Or, you will lose everything, including your dignity. Your choice."

Mr Darrel paused again, knowing that what he said was right. He had no other choice, and the Beast knew that. However giving all his money to such a man was as shameful as living with the debt. The Beast was about to turn and leave, thinking that his job was done, when a desperate thought came to Mr Darrel's mind, and he called out suddenly.

"Wait!"

The Beast paused, slowing turning his head to face him.

"What if I give you something worth more than money?" Mr Darrel offered.

"Worth more?" The Beast raised a black eyebrow.

Whether Mr Darrel knew what he was going to say next, or whether it was just coming from the top of his head, he didn't give himself time to think about his new, desperate offer. He just imagined his precious golden coins being drained away, falling into the black hands of the Beast…

"I'll give you my daughter!" He cried out.

At first, the Beast said nothing. He just stared, but he didn't leave.

"Your daughter?" The Beast's eyes were full of surprise at these words, but then flickered back to their unemotional state. He looked quite calm, as if he was expecting this to happen.

Mr Darrel nodded. He didn't think that there was anything unusual about the way the Beast acted, but he wasn't really thinking at all. He was simply relieved that he had found a way out, that he could save his precious money and pride.

"My daughter is the most beautiful young woman for miles around. You must have seen her, all men crave her. If you accept my daughter's hand in marriage, we can forget about the amount of money I owe you. I will have the money to pay off my other debts, and you will keep my daughter forever."

The Beast hesitated, before he replied. "And what say does your daughter have in all of this?" He asked slowly.

Mr Darrel shrugged ignorantly. "She is my daughter, I make the decisions for her. She should be proud to be saving her family from bankruptcy and scandal."

There was another pause, the Beast was clearly thinking hard about this; his dark eyes sparkled brightly in the dim light. Finally, he nodded. "All right," he muttered. "Keep your money, for what it's worth, and I'll keep your daughter."

Mr Darrel nodded, he seemed pleased with this decision, but he didn't like the way the Beast was looking at him. The two of them were staring at each other, and as the seconds passed, Mr Darrel got a horrible feeling that the Beast was reading his soul. He glowered.

"The two of you will be married within the month. Until then, I do not want to see your stinking face again." Mr Darrel snapped. "And you know better than to summon me, no matter what I owe you!"

The Beast said nothing, his eyes remained cold. Mr Darrel tried very hard not to show his fear as the Beast slowly turned and left the tavern.

After a few minutes sitting in silence, Mr Darrel composed himself. Taking deep breaths, he brushed down his clothes, stood up and fixed a smug smile on his face. Leaving his beer still untouched, he stepped out into the cold evening, the rain just ceasing as he did so, but still dripping from the roofs. He looked around the dim alleyway he found himself in, eyes peeled for the Beast. But the creature had disappeared into the darkness, as he always did.

Trying to forget about the Beast's terrifying and mysterious presence, Mr Darrel set off home, ready to tell his daughter the good news.


	3. The Wedding

Chapter 2

The Wedding

Belle gazed over the view of her balcony, the sun warming her back, for the last time. She shivered despite the fact the day was warm. It would be understandable if she was nervous, but she was frightened more than anything, frightened of what future lay ahead of her.

This was her last day of being a single woman. Tomorrow, she would be married to a man she had never met before, all because of her father's stupidity and ignorance. The thought made Belle's hands clench into fists in anger, but there was nothing she could do, what her father said, went. No one would bother listening to her cries.

Belle had heard a lot about the man she was going to marry over the past month, if you could call him a man. She had whispers in her ear from servants and passer-bys alike who had heard the news.

"His skin is as black as his soul."

"He stinks."

"His eyes are black and cold, he hates every living thing."

"He doesn't speak, because then you would see his forked tongue."

"He's a monster."

The words whirled around Belle's head over and over again, making her shudder. She didn't want to get married to this beast; she didn't want to get married to a monster. She had felt lonely for the past eighteen years of her life, but now it sounded like she was going to spend the rest of her life in the company of the devil.

And there was no escape, no way out.

Everyone around her was getting ready for the big celebration, sorting out the food, the clothes and the flowers, but for Belle, it was no celebration. It was a mourning of her childhood being burned away as she was married to the Beast.

Belle had not had the happiest of lives, an only child, her mother had died during childbirth, and her father spent his days counting his precious golden coins and then spending them carelessly, but she knew she was fortunate. Not everyone had servants to do what she bid them, not everyone had their own personal tutor who taught them to read and right, not everyone lived in such a huge house with a library. If it wasn't for the library, with shelves upon shelves of books reaching up the ceiling, Belle would have never developed such a love for reading. She was told every day that she should be grateful for what she had, and she was, but that didn't stop her loneliness, or her worry, as as she grew older and wiser she realised her father could throw everything so easily away with his carelessness and gambling, already budgets were getting tight.

Over time, Belle had developed into a beautiful young woman, with long ebony hair, which fell in waves down her shoulders, pale skin and ice-blue eyes. Very attractive, people said, you'd have no trouble finding her a husband, they told her father.

But Belle was not pleased by these words, she didn't want to be married off to someone she hardly knew, and she didn't like the way men looked at her and talked about her beauty.

However now those days had come to an end, as one morning her nightmare came true, and her father burst in, after spending almost the whole night out, to tell her with a gleeful look in his eye that all their problems had been solved and soon she would be married to the Beast.

That's what he had actually called him, the Beast. And within days the date of the wedding was set, and Belle knew there was nothing she could say. She belonged to her father, and her father had signed her death warrant.

If there was any a time that she would turn and run away from this life, it would be now. But she couldn't, because she would be making herself an outcast, a nobody, she would die alone, starving in the woods. At least if she married the Beast, she would have a roof over her head.

Did the Beast actually have a home? What did he eat? Belle would rather starve in the forest than become a cannibal. People kept on saying he was a demon, so he probably ate like one too.

Belle tried as hard as she could not to think of such things, but she spent her last night of freedom alone, staring at her bedroom ceiling, trying not to cry. She was not the weak woman everyone thought she was, she was not going to let her tears show, even though fear gripped her heart.

Fortunately, the next day was nothing more than a blur for Belle, time did not stand still long enough to let fear paralyse her. Everyone was rushing around her, getting the last things ready, trying to make her look beautiful. She didn't have time to think about how her heart was now hiding in her new, silver wedding shoes as she had her face plastered with makeup and slipped her into a tight-fitting, pure white dress.

Belle didn't see her father for most of the day, even though this was the last day they would spend together. Apparently he was out buying land or hunting. This didn't surprise her, how much money had he saved by selling off his daughter to a rich monster?

Apparently, her father was for the wedding ceremony, but Belle hadn't noticed him as she walked slowly up the aisle that afternoon, hardly able to breath with fear, staring at the blood-red carpet as she walked up to the creature she was about to marry.

Reaching the altar, Belle kept her head down, not daring to look into the eyes of the Beast, but she could feel his eyes boring into her. She breathed slowly through her mouth, not wanting to inhale his stink. She tried to listen to what the Vicar was saying, but his words were muffled and made no sense. She just repeated in a mumbled voice the words she somehow knew she had to repeat, without even listening. She had been to weddings before; she knew what to do.

In the end, Belle couldn't help it, she couldn't stare at the ground forever, with what felt like a million eyes staring at her, even though the Church was only half full, (there were no members of the Beast's family or friends that had come to witness the wedding). She looked up, not to the eyes of the Beast, but into the eyes of the Vicar, hoping to find comfort in them. But the man's eyes were cold and hard as he read out the incoherent words from his Bible. Frightened by the man's harsh glare, Belle's gaze flickered down to the ground again, but then she looked up, holding her breath, into the eyes of the Beast.

Their eyes met for the first time, and Belle was shocked by what she saw.

The Beast's eyes were black like a demon's, as people had lead her to believe, but a soft brown colour, and they were not cold. It was true that they held little emotion, but there was something glittering within them, something that bathed his expressionless face with feeling. It took Belle a few seconds before she worked out what it was. It was sympathy.

Suddenly, Belle's thoughts were broken when she heard the Vicar speak:

"I now pronounce you, man and wife."

Oh Lord, she was married.

Belle turned to face the Beast for the first time, knowing it was what she had to do, even though she didn't want to.

She had expected the Beast to plant his lips roughly on hers, thinking that a demon would want its taste of a woman as quickly as possible. But instead, he merely gently kissed her on the cheek, as if it was nothing but a friendly greeting.

There was applause from the audience, the first time they had been pleased to see the Beast in a public place. But once more Belle found she couldn't really hear, she was busy staring at the Beast, trying to work out what was going on behind his dark eyes, which had suddenly gone cold.


	4. The Mansion

Chapter 3

The Mansion

However, now the wedding was over, it didn't mean that Belle's troubles were over. She still had to face the rest of her life with a mysterious man who may or may not be a demon (she was no longer sure), and she also had to get through their first wedding night. It was something that was never discussed in society, it was taboo, but everyone knew about it. Everyone did it as well, even if they didn't talk about it, and on a wedding night, it was tradition.

Belle went to the Beast's mansion for the very first time after her wedding. She was told that there were going to be celebrations all through the night for this happy marriage, that her father's money was saved, but Belle would witness none of it. Such parties were not going to happen at the Beast's house. She would be spending her first day and night at her new husband's home.

Belle had seen Beastly mansion before, but she had never been any closer than on the other side of the road, staring at the black gates with a growing feeling of anxiety in her stomach. Two horses and a carriage took her and the Beast, who had barely glanced at her since they left the Church, through the black gates and up to the front of the house. The Beast didn't say anything as he jumped out, offering a black hand for Belle to take as she clambered out of the carriage. She didn't want to touch him any more than she had to, despite the Beast's mysterious kindness so far what people said about him still made her cringe. But it was difficult to climb out of a carriage in a wedding dress, and she was wearing gloves.

The Beast pushed open the massive front doors, and strolled in, leaving Belle to tread carefully in after him, gazing around at her new home; or prison.

She had entered a massive hall, the floor was marble, the ceiling decorated with carvings of flowers and splashes of colour. A large, magnificent chandelier hung high above her head. As soon as the Beast strolled passed, the candles on the chandelier flickered into life, making Belle shiver. She had never seen magic being used so casually before, but this was the Beast's home, he made the rules.

The Beast stopped in the middle of the hall, and turned to face his new wife. He was too far away for Belle to see any expression in his eyes, but his voice remained emotionless when he spoke.

"Would you like a tour?"

Belle wasn't sure what to say, she felt nervous about being in such a huge place with such a man, the thought of what was going to happen that night lingering in her mind. She just nodded.

The next hour or so was spent with Belle following the Beast as he strolled around the house, opening one door briskly to let her glimpse inside it, and then closing it again, murmuring the name or use of the room. Most room were large and grand, beautifully decorated and surprisingly homely, others were small and simple. They only struck up a conversation when he opened the door to the library, and Belle's eyes lit up to see a large room filled with ancient books.

"You enjoy reading?" The Beast asked, making her jump.

"Yes," she admitted.

"Then you are welcome to any book you want. I will give you the key to the door, you can come in whenever you please."

Belle didn't know what to say, once again the Beast appeared emotionless, yet he had just done something very kind, something she would not expect a husband to do. "Why, thank you..." she began, but the Beast was already strolling towards the next door.

Belle had visited almost all the rooms in the mansion by the time the sun began to set. They had reached the top floor, lighted candles hovering around them, when the Beast stopped at an old wooden door.

Something in his eyes told Belle what this room was.

"Your chamber?" She asked quietly.

The Beast nodded.

Belle tried not to sigh with sorrow. She could see her childhood and innocence about to drain away with a man she feared and would never love. She was frightened as well, she knew what it was, but she didn't know what it was like.

But before she could say anything, or move towards the door, the Beast spoke again.

"Your chamber's down here."

Belle stared as the Beast abandoned his position beside his bedroom door, and strolled over to another down the corridor. With one sleek movement he opened it and stood there, waiting for her.

Belle was feeling even more confused now. This wasn't meant to happen, a man and wife were meant to share a room, and a bed. She had lost her mother when she was very young and her father had never re-married, but she knew this wasn't how it worked.

"You must be tired after such a long day, I think it would be best if you have an early night. There is some food if you get hungry, and the room has everything that I think you will require, I have made sure it has been done." The Beast explained, but his voice was still emotionless.

Slowly, as if her feet were sticking to the floor, Belle made her way over to her room.

Her chamber was large, yet cosy, something Belle wasn't expecting. Candles didn't hover in this room, they sat on a small bedside table, on the windowsill, and on a table in the centre of the room that also had some fruit and cold meats on it, there was a decanter of wine. A small fire crackled merrily. A double bed with beautiful embroidery on the cover lay in the corner of the room in front of the table and fireplace. A large wardrobe sat next to the window, a bunch of red roses sat on her bedside table, and some comfortable-looking night clothes lay on the bed.

Behind Belle, there was a click as the Beast closed the door, making her head whip round. She saw that there was a lock on the door, it looked like it had only recently been fitted.

For some reason, this made Belle nervous, as if the Beast was planning to enter in the middle of the night. She rushed over to the door and locked it quickly, breathing heavily. She paused, wondering if the Beast was still on the other side, but she could hear nothing.

Calming down a little, and the fire warming her cold shivers, Belle continued to explore her room. She had taken nothing with her from her old home, nothing really belonged to her there anyway, in fact, she was shocked to find that these things were her possessions now. She tried some of the food and wine; neither were poisoned, in fact they were quite nice. She found a collection of classic books by her bed; a few she recognised as old favourites. She then made her way over to the wardrobe.

The wardrobe was a beautiful piece of carved furniture, the wood smooth and a deep brown. She took the iron handle and pulled it, wondering what was inside.

Belle gasped, before her were rows and rows of magnificent dresses, the colours ranging from white to brown to blue, some for the winter, others for the summer, but all were soft to the touch, and fitted Belle perfectly. She was in shock, how did the Beast know her size? These were all brand new and expensive, why would the Beast go to so much trouble for her? In the bottom of the wardrobe were rows of shoes as well, some glittering in the candlelight.

First the mansion - a lot more homely than it was on the outside, then a library she was welcome to use, and then a large chamber all to herself, full of her own posessions and clothes.

Belle was beginning to think that there was something in the wine.

Even though her father was a rich man, she hardly saw any of the money, she wasn't treated to such things or given so many expensive gifts. It looked like the Beast had planned it all out for her, it was as if he wanted to try and make her as happy as possible.

What did that say about all the horrible things people said about the Beast?

As Belle pulled off her tight wedding dress and got into her new, comfortable night clothes, exhaustion setting in, she wondered if perhaps the Beast wasn't as bad as people said he was.

* * *

_Sorry for the slightly delayed update for this chapter, hope you liked it anyway :) reviews much appreciated!_


	5. Roses

Chapter 4

Roses

Belle was woken the next morning by birds singing outside her window. For a few moments she had forgotten where she was. She sat bolt upright when she realised she was not in her own bed, but then she remembered that she was in the Beast's mansion, this was her own bed now.

Heart sinking, Belle got up and made her way to the window, hoping to catch sight of the birds that were singing. Her window faced the back garden, which she hadn't seen yet. It was a beautiful place, and looked twice the size of the house, with tall oak trees, blossoming flowers and impressive fountains.

There was already someone walking through the garden that morning. When Belle went to her window the person suddenly stopped, and looked up.

Belle jumped back from the window when the Beast's dark eyes met hers. Filled with fear again, she avoided her window for the rest of the morning, instead she had a little more fruit for breakfast and got changed, thinking about the day, and then life, that lay ahead of her.

Eventually Belle plucked up the courage to unlock her bedroom door, and make her way downstairs. She expected to see the Beast waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs, demanding an explanation of why she was up so late, but he wasn't there. In fact he was strolling casually past the hall when he caught sight of her and went up to her.

Belle felt herself freeze to the spot as the Beast came up to her, his eyes emotionless as always.

"I trust you slept well?" The Beast said briskly, stopping about half a metre in front of her. Not the way married people stood, and the way he stood so still and firm, as if he was in the army, unnerved Belle a little.

"Yes thank you," she told him.

The Beast nodded, "I hope you'll be comfortable here," he almost sounded like he meant it.

Belle didn't reply, she knew the message that lay behind the Beast's words. She had to be comfortable here, because she wouldn't be going anywhere else for quite a while. She was married to a monster now, she probably wouldn't be respected in society again if she went out into the streets. If she did go out into the streets, the Beast would have to go with her, as a married woman could not walk in public alone. But everyone knew that the Beast hardly ever left his mansion unless he had to, because everyone shunned him. No one showed him respect, but now Belle would have to, because she was his wife. What the Beast said, went.

"The garden is my favourite place, it's very peaceful," the Beast said, "I recommend you explore it today, the skies are cloudless and the air is warm."

With that, he turned and left Belle alone again, without even waiting for her to respond.

If the Beast had stayed, he would have heard a torrent of questions from Belle, as she was once again feeling confused. What had he said? _Recommend_? He was not telling her what to do; he was just giving her suggestions. A husband told his wife what to do, he told her when she could go into the garden, and what to explore. He didn't recommend her things and then leave her to her own devices in his own house. This was all wrong.

In the end, Belle went into the garden anyway, she didn't know what else she could do, and if the garden was peaceful, it would be a good place for her to clear her head.

The garden was as beautiful as it looked from Belle's window. The grass was a lush green, and everywhere were the brilliant colours of violets, lilies, irises, petunias and poppies, light pink blossom hung from the trees. Belle sat on a bench that stood beside some neat little hedges and a small fountain, and gazed at the house that was now her home. It didn't look as menacing as it did last night.

Suddenly, a figure appeared at one of the windows again. Belle knew it was the Beast, she had seen no one else in the house, but this time she didn't jump away or feel afraid, she stared back. There was something very strange about the way the Beast was acting, he wasn't behaving as a married man should be. He had the power to do whatever he wanted to his new wife, but all he did was stare at Belle through a window for a few seconds as if he couldn't quite reachher, and then disappear from sight once more.

Belle spent most of the day in the garden. The Beast was right, it was peaceful, the fresh air helped her to think and it was nice to walk around with just the singing birds for company.

The Beast only came into the garden and approached Belle once that day. She automatically felt nervous when he approached, but she was slowly running out of reasons why, he hadn't done anything to hurt her, yet.

"Are you enjoying the garden?" The Beast asked, acting like he did that morning when they had encountered each other. His eyes were hard, and he didn't stand too close to Belle, but he remained polite.

_Interesting, _thought Belle, _you said 'the', not 'my'. _"Yes thank you," she replied.

There was an awkward silence, so Belle quickly thought of something else to say, it didn't look like the Beast was going to be leaving any time soon.

"Some roses might be nice though," she mumbled.

The Beast nodded, "Good idea." He said, "I'll see that it is done." And with that, he walked away again.

Belle was taken aback, no one had ever given her a compliment, unless it contained the words 'you're pretty' and then the person's eyes drifted away from her face, which made Belle feel nervous.

She wasn't as taken aback, however, as she was when she turned around and saw a bare patch of earth that she had been standing by was suddenly blooming with bright red roses. Her favourite flower, her favourite colour.

* * *

_Not the best chapter, but I hope you liked it all the same :) please review!_


	6. Jamal

_This is the last chapter of the story I'm afraid! I know, it's quite a short one, but I hope you've enjoyed reading it :) I'm thinking of writing fairy tales in a similar manner, so I'd love to hear what you think of the overall story :) Thanks to all of those who have reviewed, alerted and favourited the story so far, it was very much appreciated :)_

_Anyway, since this is the season I wish you all a happy Christmas and a great New Year. There's been some terrible things on the news recently so I hope whatever you will be celebrating this holiday, you have a safe one._

_All the best, and thanks for reading!_

_Naisa x_

Chapter 5

Jamal*

These mysterious acts by the Beast continued to occur over the next few days. He never told Belle what to do; he left her alone most of the time and when they did encounter each other, he would ask polite questions about her day and even try and have a conversation. Belle could do whatever she wanted in the house, she could eat whenever she felt like it, and often it wasn't with the Beast, she could even go to bed and get up in the morning whenever she wanted. The Beast never stayed more than five minutes with Belle, and was never possessive. Sometimes, when Belle was walking through the garden or smelling the roses, she would look up to see him watching her through a window, but then he would disappear as if he was never there.

This should have made Belle happy. The demon wasn't trying to eat her; the man wasn't trying to control her. Many married women didn't even have the privilege of sleeping in their own room, but it was making Belle more suspicious than grateful. She had grown to believe all these terrible things about the Beast and she expected him to be cruel and evil. And even though he had different coloured skin to everyone else, he had never said or done anything against her.

Slowly, Belle was beginning to lose all fear of the Beast. His strong presence and silence made her feel nervous sometimes, but apart from that she no longer felt afraid or surprised when the candles would suddenly light themselves as night set in.

And yet despite the fact that the Beast had a huge house, a beautiful garden, magic powers, and now a wife, he never smiled. Even when he was talking to Belle and being kind, asking her if there was anything she needed, he never smiled. His eyes never warmed. At first it made Belle suspicious and a little scared, but now she just felt sympathy for him, there must be something truly bothering him to stop him smiling. But what confused her even more as to the reason why he acted like he did.

In the end, Belle decided to confront the Beast. She wanted to know why he was treating her as a guest, not his property.

The time came one evening when the Beast when sitting in the parlour. The sun had set, and now the only light came from the fire in the fireplace, its happy crackling filling the silence.

Belle entered the parlour slowly, knowing that the Beast often sat in the parlour alone in the evenings after he had eaten. The Beast was staring, unblinking; out the window at the bright, shining stars, when Belle walked in. He seemed to sense that she was there, and immediately drew his eyes from the window, standing up and greeting her.

"Is there something wrong?" He asked, seeing the slightly worried look on Belle's face.

Belle shook her head, giving a small smile, but then her face grew stern. "I want to ask you something," she explained.

The Beast nodded; looking as if he knew this time would come. But how could he know what Belle was about to ask? He gazed down at the floor, and waited for her to speak.

Belle took a deep breath, "Why is it that you treat me so well?" She asked.

The Beast paused and looked up at her, his eyes as dark and cold as ever, but Belle continued.

"My whole life I have been told what to do, I didn't even get a choice in who I was going to marry. I have always been told to obey my father, and then when I get a husband, to obey my husband, but you give me no instructions to obey. All you want to know is if I'm comfortable, if I'm happy, and yet you never look happy. No man is meant to act like this, you least of all," at this, the Beast winced. It was the first time Belle had seen him do such a thing, and she hesitated. "I just…I just want to know why you act so differently to everyone else," she finished in a small voice.

There was a short pause; even the fire seemed to grow quiet for a few moments.

"Because if I acted like everyone else, you would still be afraid of me," the Beast muttered. He looked up at Belle, their eyes locked. His dark eyes softened as he gazed into her silver-blue ones. "Even before your father lost all his money, I knew that I would marry you. At first I didn't want to, whenever I go out into the streets I am taunted and shunned, some have even threatened to put my life to and end just because of what I look like, why would I want that in my own home? But then I realised, why would I leave someone else who is just like me, to suffer?"

"We are nothing alike," Belle said, her voice surprisingly firm.

Despite this, the Beast smiled. It was the first time Belle had seen him smile, probably the first time anyone had seen him smile. His teeth were white, but he held no fangs as a beast would, and his eyes seemed to light up with his smile. He no longer looked like the monster everyone feared.

"That is because you are like everyone else. You look at me, you look at the colour of my skin and you think that I am some sort of horrible creature dreamt up by the Devil. People hate me because I am something they cannot understand, and then they hate me even more when I became successful and rich. No one looks beyond my skin or money, or looks into my soul. We are alike because no one looks beyond the fact that you are a woman, they do not look into your soul. If they did, I think they would be surprised by what they saw. You have been taught to be nothing but a delicate little flower, to be controlled by any man who claims you, but I think you are more than that, you are stronger than that and you should not be controlled. for example you like reading, I expect peple don't like the fact a girl sits alone in a room expanding her intelligence by reading. We are Society's rejects, Society's beasts, but we are also so much more. This is why I treat you with the respect you deserve, and I hoped that one day you would see something that no one else sees."

"What's that?"

Once more, the Beast smiled; it was a gentler smile this time, as he reached out his hand. "I like roses too."

From the palm of his hand, a deep green stem appeared, before Belle's eyes it grew taller, until the green suddenly became red, and at the end of the stem blood-red petals began to appear, growing over each other, until suddenly it stopped. And in the Beast's palm sat a bright red rose.

With a smile that Belle was already beginning to love, he handed it over to her, and she took it, holding it in her pale hands, no longer thinking she needed gloves to touch the Beast.

There was a long silence, but it wasn't an uncomfortable one.

"Has anyone ever asked you your real name?" Belle suddenly asked.

The Beast shook his head, but in Belle's eyes, he was no longer a beast.

Belle gave a gentle smile; "will you tell me?"

"My name is Jamal."

Belle held out her free hand, "pleased to meet you Jamal," she said, a sweet smile on her face. "My name's Belle."

Jamal smiled again as he bent down to kiss Belle's hand.

And so Belle learned that you cannot simply judge by the colour of skin, as Jamal was one of the kindest men she had ever met. She saw the beauty of the Beast that no one else could, and Jamal treated Belle like a human, not as property.

Over time, their friendship and eventual love bloomed like a rose. They talked and spent more time together, Belle grew out of the fragile being she once was, and Jamal became happy. Belle moved her chamber next to Jamal's, and soon after that moved into the same room. As these things happened from the inside, on the outside of the mansion, people watched curiously as flowers and roses bloomed, and the inside didn't look so menacing as it once was.

And even though Belle and Jamal were two people that were still rejected by Society, they no longer cared, as they had each other.

The End

_*Meaning Beautiful_


End file.
